Well what they have is a palpable imaging quite independent of the listeners position and the front wall distance. I guess that’s what fascinates many and it’s definitely nice without having to tweak too much. For me as a currently non omnidirectional listener, imaging is a bit diffuse, the mid to higher registers too harsh and the bass too loose and incoherent with the rest. But they must play better under optimal circumstances, I’m sure. I just must say within the last years I didn’t hear them better yet.
As in most rooms this year, I could listen at the best sweet spot seat in the middle for some time.
Actually, I was leaning towards the MBL Radialstrahler 126 based on the space they’d occupy. Have not been able to shoe horn a dem into my summer schedule.
In a bit of a state of flux, what with my main subwoofer on the fritz. The smaller REL sitting on top has been commandeered from center channel duty for now.
Still fiddling with final speaker positions, height and rake…
Also need to rerun Anthem Room Correction as soon as I stop playing with the speakers.
The GIK panels in the corners are new to me. They are ostensibly too thin to serve as true low frequency/bass traps. So, I bought 48, 3-inch natural wool (New Zealand) balls and dropped two dozen of them in each of the channels formed in the corners of the front walls by the panels.
The balls stacked up nicely one on top of the other in the channel and added some depth to the dampening material in the actual corners.
I took so long reconfiguring the system, plus the loss of my subwoofer, I couldn’t make any kind of “direct” comparisons to the sound of lower frequencies w/ and w/out the panels and wool balls.
Even so, I believe a sense of smoothness and clarity has been added to the mix with well recorded music.
Looking forward to hearing what a difference ARC adds…
I love the mix of high end gear and a lovely room, and using balls of wool (and plants) for sound control
What’s the unit top right with 3 analogue VU style meters?
It may well be I am wrong but it appears to me that the ceiling is already angled and so is the floor (or at least the rug-like surface on which the chair is placed). In other words not only are the walls non-parallel, but all surfaces are non-parallel. Of course it might all be a piece of trick photography. Perhaps it is meant to serve as a satire on audiophile OCD re set-up. Of course you wouldn’t need such expensive equipment to make such satire. Then again, the expensive equipment may make it an “inside” joke in yet another dimension (the economic one as opposed to the geometric dimensions).
I didn’t know you were running Emotiva amps! What’s your thoughts on them? I really have no issues with mine. It actually surprises me a lot of times with the amount of detail and refinement that it’s capable of.
I have not had the pleasure of comparing them to other, comparable SS amplifiers, but I think they were and are an example of a “world beater” given their build quality, measured specifications and very modest MSRP. I doubt the current Emotiva designs are as accomplished.
As you probably know, they are Class AB, relatively high current and have lots of head room.
My speakers love the power and I find the amps to be very revealing and able to really punch at the lower frequencies. I don’t listen at high dBs, but these high-powered amps offer a lot of dynamics and headroom when called for - “transients” are a strength I think. However, I believe the upper mid- and high frequency capabilities of the somewhat unique “tweeters” on my speakers have a lot to do with that.
The Emotivas are about 12 years or so old and have been glitch free, but for a bad front power on/standby switch I had to have replaced about five years ago. Emotiva was a joy to work with arranging for the repair.
So yeah, no complaints.
What say you about your amp?
I don’t plan to replace the XPA-1’s or my speakers until I am no longer able to continue to eke out better performance from my room and the rest of the signal chain.
So much for brand loyalty / single manufacturer systems! Just added the Pass sign to represent all but the Sanders Sound Systems gear which has nice illuminated logos on the front of the amps. BTW the Pass Labs XP-12 preamp is really something sweet as others have mentioned on the forum. Detail without harshness; guess that heavily class-A biased output makes it sound tube-like with loads of drive. Very happy with that update.
Joe Maza at Grove Engravers is great to deal with too. He even hooked me up with sign bases that all use the same remote.
EDIT: And, since I’m just a bit anal retentive (an audiophile? no way!) Joe M at Grove Engravers is making a version of the Pass sign with radiused corners to match the other signs FOR FREE (only charging for shipping). This guy is amazing.
I have the XPA-2 Gen 2. I have pretty much the same findings as you. And since my Maggies are 4 ohms, I too have 500 watts on tap, though like you, I don’t blast my system like I used to years ago. However, the very few times that I have, this amp just coasts along, sounding effortless and with plenty of dynamic swing.
These amps definitely allow the differences between gear upstream show through. Speaking of different gear, when it comes to speakers, it seems that nothing phases these amps. I originally purchased this amp because I was running Martin Logan SL3’s which have a demanding impedance swing from 15 ohms all the way down to 1.5 ohms, and not all that efficient. The XPA-2 just sailed along totally unbothered by those speakers. Likewise with my Maggie 1.7i’s. The sound remains clean and effortless.
I have no plans on replacing this amp, but if I do, it will be a Sanders Magtech amp.
A few new pics of the system at a totally different angle. The 32" monitor on the back wall is connected to the tiny PC running Roon Core. Everything is hidden in that buffet table, and that huge monitor needs to go and a small monitor put inside the table as well. That wall is prime real estate for some acoustic panels!
Also, those LPs on the wall are damaged and are on pre-existing nails in the wall. Though I do want to do some kind of “wall art” with old non-playable LPs eventually.
